Precision BioSciences, today announced the strategic prioritization and acceleration of PBGENE-DMD, the Company’s first-in-class in vivo gene editing approach for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).
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What is PBGENE-DMD?
- PBGENE-DMD is a first-in-class in vivo gene editing approach for the majority of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patients impacted by dystrophin mutations in the most common ‘hot spot’ region between exons 45-55.
- Final clinical candidate PBGENE-DMD demonstrates compelling preclinical data for durably improving functional benefit over time.
- Precision targeting to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) and/or Clinical Trial Application (CTA) for PBGENE-DMD in 2025 with clinical data expected in 2026.
Read more: PBGENE-DMD for the Treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)
How the PBGENE-DMD Approach Works?
There are currently no approved therapies that can drive significant and durable functional muscle improvements. PBGENE-DMD employs two complementary ARCUS nucleases delivered in a single AAV to excise exons 45-55 of the dystrophin gene with the aim of restoring the body’s natural production of a functional dystrophin protein.
In preclinical data being presented at ASGCT, PBGENE-DMD demonstrated significant and durable functional improvement in a humanized DMD mouse model. Following AAV delivery, PBGENE-DMD restored the body’s ability to produce a functional dystrophin protein broadly across multiple muscles, including cardiac and skeletal muscles. Over the course of 9 months, mice treated with PBGENE-DMD showed increased dystrophin protein expression resulting in substantial and sustained functional muscle improvement. In addition, PBGENE-DMD-edited dystrophin mRNA transcript in muscle satellite stem cells, which are progenitor cells for new muscle cells, supports the potential for long-term durability.
